15YO Teen Allegedly Turned Paya Lebar Office into KTV Lounge on 22 May

These days, it’s not enough to just study whatever’s in the textbooks. We must also cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit in youths, right from the tender young age of 15.

And that is why this 15-year-old was handsomely rewarded with a free insider-only tour of a police station together with a police car ride and a handcuff experience when he was found operating a karaoke unit. You know, as Singapore is in the throes of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).

15YO Operated KTV Lounge at Paya Lebar Office

According to Mothership, the police raided an office unit near Paya Lebar Road on 22 May.

In it were 29 people—21 men and eight women aged between 14 and 39—happily imbibing alcohol and socialising with clear regard for social distancing. Because, you know, the maximum size of gatherings is 29, not two.

What more was that the operator of the illicit KTV Lounge—the crime boss, as you may call it—was a 15-year-old.

Come on, when I was fifteen, I couldn’t even get a leadership position in my CCA. Leading an illegal karaoke? That teenager’s a rare talent.

Unfortunately, using talent this way requires a maximum cost of S$20,000, for the offense of providing public entertainment and supplying liquor without a valid license. 

He may be below the legal drinking age, but what about the legal selling-drinks age?

Jalan Besar KTV Shut Down Too

Another incident occurred at an industrial unit along Jalan Besar, where nine people—seven men and two women between the ages of 20 and 27—were found socialising and alcohol-ising within the unit.

Why are there always more men than women? Are women just smarter for staying out of obviously illegal gatherings?

The 39 people uncovered in total are under investigation for non-compliance with safe distancing measures and the illegal provision of public entertainment and alcoholic beverages. 

Although, if you already have the photos, it’s hard not to see which way the investigation will go.

The Public Entertainment License

Welcome to Singapore, where you need a license to do basically anything!

Under the Public Entertainments Act, anyone who wants to provide public entertainment—which is a category stretching from gymnastics performances to crane machines—must seek approval from the police with a Public Entertainment License.

According to Singapore Legal Advice, there are two types of such licenses: the ad-hoc license, which is, well, issued for ad-hoc events, and establishment licenses, which permit premises to operate till a fixed time in the early morning. 

Depending on the type of the license, the establishment may have to close at 1:00am in the morning, or keep getting lit all night until 6:00am.

Some events are exempted, however, from the licensing requirement. These include getai performances, busking, or the “transmission of recorded music in premises such as hotels, shopping centres, offices, clinics, shops and restaurants”.

How is that even a thing to be regulated?

Anyway, if you are planning to start a KTV lounge in your Primary 6 child’s name to beef up their resume for university applications—because talents like aforementioned 15-year-old ringleader must be cultivated from a young age—you can file an application here with supporting documents.

Feature Image: Princess_Anmitsu / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purposes only)